Ningaloo Reef

We squeal at each other as we skim with the waves to Ningaloo Reef.

I dive into the depths of the ocean to brush my tail along grainy sand,

opening my eyes, appreciating the clear, warm ocean.

Schools of fish, lonely turtles, loggerheads and green seas.

The whales' calls stray and become music to my ears.

Flutemouths bolt into their home as they see my pod and I 

plunge towards the reef, coral, seaweed and sand.

I glimpse schools of fish - black, blue, burnt sienna - and coral -

Coral that is chiffon, porcelain and daisy white!

What have humans done to our home?

We had a bliss of coral and sun,

we got to call our own.

Now my family is dying

because of coral bleaching,

because they didn’t care.

Existence is bland,

colourless without colour,

blending in with the dull rocks and weeds.

No longer standing out with their tint and vibrance.

Lustreless, from the humans who have taken over our paradise.